State losing $400M in veterans benefits

SACRAMENTO  California veterans may be losing out on $400 million in federal benefits annually and among the options some are looking at to capture that money is to use potential savings by cutting costs at veterans homes.

The emerging debate centers on whether the state spends too much on its homes for veterans who are older, ill or disabled and instead should focus more resources to help younger returning veterans with their claims for federal benefits to prevent rejections and even more delays.

The untapped amount of federal dollars alarms advocates for veterans, who are urging Gov. Jerry Brown to spend what they view as a modest amount to hire more people who could drastically increase the benefits for veterans.

The veteran groups are lobbying for $11 million in spending that was authorized by previous legislation but never materialized because of nagging state deficits. Brown has offered $2.6 million in his proposed 2013-14 spending plan — an amount unchanged since 2006-07.

Spending $11 million for more for benefits assistance would bring in $400 million in additional federal benefits, said Pete Conaty, a lobbyist who represents the County Veteran Services Officers who help file the bulk of federal claims. His estimate is based on the projected number of additional claims that could be filed, speedier returns and obtaining the maximum benefits available. The state does not dispute the figure.

Veterans advocates’ first choice is for Brown is to simply allocate the money.

Another possibility, according to a local lawmaker and others, would be to shift money from the state’s system of six veterans homes, which includes one in Chula Vista.

Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, R-Oceanside, was acting secretary of the state Department of Veterans Affairs under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He called the veterans homes “the Cadillac of programs paid by California taxpayers.”

He said the $100,000 or so the state now spends on average for each resident of veterans homes could be trimmed back through privatizing of pharmacies, food service, gardening and other tasks.

Others have suggested increasing fees and tightening the mostly unlimited access to health care for residents.

The state could also look into ways to keep veterans in their own homes longer, said the recently elected Chavez, a retired Marine Corps colonel and vice chair of the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee.

Those savings could help bolster claim-filing efforts, Chavez said.

“You could bring in more revenues for their quality of life, for the community, the economy,” he said.

Peter Gravett, the current secretary of veterans affairs and a retired Army major general, said his agency is doing its best to expedite claims given funding levels and competing priorities.

“If the governor gives us additional money, we’ll take a look and see where the best place is to place those funds,” he said in an interview. “Obviously helping veterans and assisting veterans in filing claims is one of our priorities.”

But he said cuts at homes would be tantamount to the state turning its back on promises to care for those who served their country.